Keyboard & Shortcuts

Hardware Keyboard

vmux has full hardware keyboard support. Connect a Bluetooth or USB keyboard to your Apple Vision Pro and type directly into the terminal. Keystrokes appear instantly — local echo renders your input in under 16ms, before the server even confirms it.

App Shortcuts

These shortcuts work across the app, regardless of what's happening in the terminal.

Shortcut	Action
Cmd + T	New tab
Cmd + N	New window
Cmd + W	Close tab/window
Cmd + D	Split vertical
Cmd + Shift + D	Split horizontal
Cmd + ,	Open settings
Cmd + Shift + P	Command Palette
Cmd + +	Zoom in (increase font size)
Cmd + -	Zoom out (decrease font size)
Cmd + 0	Reset font size to default
Cmd + Shift + R	Toggle CRT effect
Cmd + ]	Next pane
Cmd + [	Previous pane
Cmd + K	Clear scrollback
Cmd + C	Copy selection
Cmd + V	Paste from clipboard

Cmd Key Readline Mappings

When you use Cmd with navigation keys, vmux translates them into standard readline shortcuts that work in shells and terminal editors.

Shortcut	Readline Equivalent	Action
Cmd + Backspace	Ctrl + U	Delete line before cursor
Cmd + Delete	Ctrl + K	Delete line after cursor
Cmd + Left	Ctrl + A	Jump to beginning of line
Cmd + Right	Ctrl + E	Jump to end of line

Option as Meta

Default: On

When enabled, the Option key acts as the Meta (Alt) key for terminal applications. Pressing Option + a key sends an escape prefix followed by the character, which is how terminal apps like vim, emacs, and tmux interpret Alt key combos.

Option + Left Arrow sends the "backward word" command (readline ESC b)
Option + Right Arrow sends the "forward word" command (readline ESC f)
Option + Backspace sends "delete previous word"

You can toggle this in Settings.

One-Shot Virtual Modifiers

A modifier bar appears below the terminal with Ctrl, Alt, Shift, and CapsLock buttons. These are one-shot toggles:

Tap a modifier button to arm it
Press your next key — the modifier is applied
The modifier automatically deactivates after that keypress

CapsLock is the exception — it stays active until you tap it again (persistent toggle). This is especially useful with VKeyboard or when you don't have a physical keyboard connected.

Custom Keybindings

You can remap defaults and assign shortcuts to any command from the shared command catalog in the keybinding editor (open from Settings).

The list is flat and includes:

App/palette commands (for example, app.new-window, settings.font-size)
Direct input commands (for example, input.gamepad.ctrl-c)

Command IDs are namespaced and unique, so there are no overlaps.

This includes management commands like Close Window (Keep Session Running) and Terminate Session, so you can choose quick detach vs explicit shutdown.

If you assign a keybind to a parameterized command (slider/picker), triggering that keybind opens the command palette directly in that command's editor.

If you create a binding that conflicts with an existing trigger, vmux warns you before saving.

Assigned keybinds are also shown inline in the Command Palette next to each command.

Gamepad Support

vmux supports game controllers for basic terminal navigation.

Button	Action
A	Enter
B	Escape
X	Tab
Y	Backspace
D-pad	Arrow keys
Left Shoulder	Ctrl + C (interrupt)
Right Shoulder	Ctrl + D (EOF)
Left Trigger	Page Up
Right Trigger	Page Down

Gamepad bindings are customizable in the keybinding editor.